Shoe-lacing.



PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

E. PALGONER. SHOE LAGING. APPLIOATION FILED oo'1',a,19o4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE.

SHOE-LACING.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

Application led October 8, 1904:. Serial No. 227,701.

v To @ZZ whom it may con/cern:

Be it known that I, ELIZABETH FALCONER, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State ofKentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShoe-Lacings and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a method or system of lacing shoes; and myobjectis to obviate the annoyance of the tangling loops and ends and alsodispense with the necessity of daily lacing and unlacing the shoe,thereby providing a system of lacing which requires no attention exceptwhen a new lace is needed to replace a lace which has become worn anduseless.

My invention will be foundadapted and suitable for all kinds of lacedshoes, the means employed in adjusting the lace being substantially the.same for high and low shoes, the length of the lace being varied, aswill be obvious, to conform to the number` of eyelets in the shoe.

My invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in theclaim and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein I have showna shoe of the usual construction.

By reference to the drawing it will be observed that I have placed twoeyelets side by side in the upper end of the tongue of the shoe, and Ithen take the shoe in the left hand and the left end of the lace in theright hand, pushing it through to eyelet l to the back of the ton ue. Ithen push it through eyelet 2 to the ont, then pass down to eyelet 3 atthe vamp of the shoe, bringing it out at the front and across to eyelet4 on the outside and through to eyelet 5 on the inside, all with thatside of the lace, then take the other end of the lace and bring it upthrough eyelet 6 to the front. I then lace the shoe in any special waywhich may be desired between the upper and lower pairs lof eyelets-as,for

- lnstance, the string may be crossed or arranged to extend transverselyacross the face of the shoe from one e elet to the opposite eyelet, allof this being left to the preference of the wearer.

My systeinof lacing may be applied to shoes in stock at no extra expenseto the manufacturer. It can also be applied to corsets, leggings,gloves, and the like.

To put on the shoe, the lace passing through the eyelets in the shoeproper is loosened sufficiently to admit the foot, and after the shoe ison and adjusted the lace is again drawn taut in the eyelets, beginningat the top and passing to the bottom of the series of eyelets.-

You then slip the finger in at the back of the tongue and pull up theslack first on one side and then on the other and then fold up the laceand tuck it inside the leg of the shoe. The lace will not become undoneuntil you release it. To take off the shoe, grasp the lace at the vampand pull it down, then slacken ulp without disturbing the lace as fixedin the s oe.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a simple thoughreliably-efficient form of lacing system by means of which a shoe of anycharacter may be very tightly laced and unlaced and that when secured ina laced condition the shoe will present a very neat and attractiveappearance. It is further obvious that my system of lacing may beapplied, as aforesaid, to the lacing of corsets, gloves, and the like,and believing that the advanta es, &c., have thus been made fullyapparent urther description is deemed unnecessary.

What I claim as new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with a shoe having a series of eyelets therein and atongue secured at one end within the shoe and having eyelets in its freeend;' of a lace extending through the eyelets in the tongue andformingan intermediate loop arranged longitudinally upon the tongue, thefree ends of the lace being interlaced in the eyelets of the shoesuccessively from one end to the other of the series of eyelets, wherebythe lace may be loosened or tightened by manipulating the' ends and loopthereof.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELIZABETH FALCONER.

Witnesses ELEANOR A. HARTHILL, H. V. LOVING.

